Former Marine from Melrose drums in acid-blues band

Wednesday

May 16, 2012 at 12:01 AMMay 16, 2012 at 4:17 PM

Patrick Sanders may not have known it, but he was destined to play the drums. Whether jamming in a high school band or preforming in the Marine Drum and Bugle Corps, the Melrose resident often found himself with a pair of wooden sticks in hand.

Jessica Sacco/ jsacco@wickedlocal.com

Patrick Sanders may not have known it, but he was destined to play the drums.

Whether jamming in a high school band or preforming in the Marine Drum and Bugle Corps, the Melrose resident often found himself with a pair of wooden sticks in hand. Today, he’s rocking out with his band, Bees Deluxe, which just released its new album, “Space Age Bachelor Pad Blues.”

And he’s just getting started with his rising passion. So can we get a drumroll, please?

Working with and around drums came at an early age for Sanders, as he said he constantly tinkered with his family drum set throughout his early childhood. Today, Sanders’ day job at Grover Pro Percussion (a manufacturer of high-end percussion instruments, specifically for orchestras) centers on his favorite instrument.

It wasn’t until the fifth grade, when Sanders joined his school band program, that he began playing drums seriously. He continued throughout middle and high school, and started a garage rock band, Absalom.

“We played through high school and then we graduated and went in different directions,” he said. “And that was that.”

In 1997, after completing high school, Sanders enlisted in the Marine Corps. He attended basic training and the School of Infantry in California.

He later made another move to Washington, DC, where he served in the Marine Corps Honor Guard.

“We did a lot of ceremonial duties at the White House, Capital and Pentagon,” said Sanders. “Coupled with that, we still trained in the field and were responsible for civil disturbance training.”

Serving in DC also gave Sanders the opportunity to audition for the Marine drum corps, where he later earned a position on the bass drum line.

“There were four of us that played bass line and I played bottom bass. It was very different,” he said. “I had never done marching band, I had always been a drum set drummer [so] it was something I had to practice a lot for.”

Almost five years later, Sanders left the Marine Corps and headed to Boston to attend Berklee College of Music. In 2005, he graduated with a degree in Performance and Music Business.

It wasn’t until 2008, after playing off and on with several different bands, that Sanders met Conrad Warre and everything changed.

Coming together

Warre and Sanders met through Craigslist when Warre advertised that he was looking for a drummer for an upcoming gig. On the night of the show, Sanders, Warre and two former members of the band met and played together for the first time.

“We knew Patrick was a Berklee student, so he could write and read music. We knew that he was competent,” said Warre. “But we didn’t know how good he would be with us. The audience was completely stunned.”

The next day Warre called Sanders and offered him a permanent position. They’ve been making music ever since. (Click here to listen to one of their songs for free.)

“He the youngest in the band,” said Warre about Sanders. “We don’t say this to his face, but he’s the baby in the band. He’s also the toughest. If you had to punch him in the stomach, you would hurt your fist.”

The band name, created by Warre, comes from an amplifier (the deluxe) and a pub in London (Bees) the guitarist often visited while living there. He describes their style of music as “acid-blues.”

“It’s not rock and it’s not blues in the traditional form that all Massachusetts blues players do,” he said. “They tend to play the same 24 tunes … there’s sort of a limited repertoire. I don’t see the incentive of playing other people’s tunes the way they played them.”

This means Bees Deluxe may play cover songs, but they add their own twist to the tracks.

“We’ll change keys, tempos, moods, voices,” said Warre. “Every show is different. We might play the same 30 songs, but they’re going to sound radically different the next time you come. Hence the term acid blues — it’s sort of trippy.”

Making it big

Another unique tidbit about the group: They rarely practice together.

“Especially when we play covers, we can all learn them on our own and we can show up at a gig and it just typically works the first time,” said Sanders. “We all have a good musical chemistry, and beyond the music, our personalities click very well.”

Because the band members live so far apart, it is often too difficult to find a time when everyone is available for rehearsal. However, this doesn’t hinder their performances, as none of their originals are very structured.

“Oftentimes, the first time we play a song together, we’ve never played it before,” said Warre. “It makes it exciting and fun for us.”

Bees Deluxe recently released its second album, “Space Age Bachelor Pad Blues.”

Sanders said this album is different from his and Warre’s previous work, “3 Cords & The Truth.” Mattson brings his jazz and New Orleans funk to the mix, which wasn’t there in their first recording.

“That was also a trio, but it was guitar, bass and drums. It was much more of a raw sound,” said Sanders about the first album. “With the addition of Bruce on keyboards, he adds a lot of texture to the sound. It’s a much more … complex sound.”

Currently, Bees Deluxe is enjoying playing local gigs every month and consistently providing new and fresh material to their fans.

“I don’t know if we’re looking to tour the world any time soon,” joked Sanders. “Hopefully we’ll get bigger and better gigs, and regardless of what happens with the band, I’m always going to be playing.”

The group’s latest album, Space Age Bachelor Pad Blues, is now available on iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, eMusic and at some Newbury Comics locations. Their next live show is Friday, May 18 at Chili Head BBQ, West Bridgewater, Mass.